#we'll be counting stars

[tawnysoup]

A new critter!!! I have finally figured out what the Bonster looks like.

They're some kind of frog creature with horns and tusks... or is it fluff?! Hard to tell. Their hat is really a big tail they can cook things in and also WHAP against the ground when they're mad!!!

They're slightly smaller than the other critters. Here's a Fritter for scale:

[daily-odile]

odile telling me to lay off the jenshin impact

odile says to game responsibly

[teffiyx]

its 5/5 happy birthday Kakavasha!!

[legobiwan]

TotJ Rewatch: Ramblings (1 of 3)

After a long abstention from consuming anything Star Wars-related, I plopped down on my couch yesterday and decided it was time to dip my toes back into this arena, mostly for the purposes of writing.

And what better way to delve back into this universe than by starting with the Dooku episodes of Tales of the Jedi?

Boi, oh boi, had I forgotten how much I love this character.

And so without a thesis or much a point whatsoever, I'd like to ramble about a few dozen thoughts I had while yelling incoherently through this rewatch.

Episode 2, "Justice"

One of the overarching themes of Dooku's episodes is this unsettling notion of darkness. Even at the start of this episode, gone are the usual triumphant Star Wars themes are so familiar with - the militant and boisterous brass, the rising strings and woodwinds. Instead, this episode opens with somewhat dissonant string passages interspersed with with a subtle, almost glistening electronic tones that meld in and out of the sustained string notes.

There is no optimism whatsoever as Dooku and Qui-gon set down on what looks to be the charred husk of village.

The remainder of these episodes rarely lighten in tone. And I don't think the thrust here is that Dooku is the only Jedi to have encountered these unfortunate situations - suffering and devastation due to corrupt politicians in a Republic the Jedi is supposedly tasked with protecting. What I do think is that this is all meant to be seen through the lens of Dooku's increasing disillusion. That these scenes are bleak because that's what Dooku is focusing on, more and more, to the point where...well, we know what happens.

But anyway, to get back to the episode.

You have give props to the animation team here. The continuity with Qui-gon's older self having a tendency to show cleavage apparently stems from his youth, where it was even more exacerbated. (Aren't you cold, Qui-gon?) The best part of this is the contrast with Dooku and he (of course) very well put-together outfit.

Maybe teen!Qui-gon just went through too many growth spurts and the Jedi tailor threw up their hands in frustration. I do find it infinitely amusing that Dooku - Mr. Propriety himself - had two students (Rael and Qui-gon) who might as well have been wearing burlap sacks half the time. Never let it be said that Dooku didn't allow his charges to express themselves, even though I'm certain it vexed the hell out him.

What's fascinating about this episode is the absolute economy of dialogue. There's not much of it, letting the visuals of the ravaged village and Dooku's own tight-lipped anger carry much of the weight of the narrative. It's almost as if we're at a point with Dooku where he knows he's angry, he knows his base instincts are trending in a bad direction, but he's still trying so, so hard to be a Jedi and toe the line, to believe in the Order he brought up in, which I think is partially why Dooku is so reserved in this particular episode, minus the part where he tries to Force-choke a guy.

I love that Qui-gon is doing the majority of the talking here. There's no disapproval written on Dooku's face, no motion made for him to hold his tongue or know his place. It truly shows the level of trust Dooku has in his student (and the level of trust in himself as a teacher) and also the level of respect he has for Qui-gon (despite his sartorial missteps). I've said it before and I'll say it again. Dooku is a teacher, through and through. He trains Qui-gon and is devastated at his death. He trains Ventress and is unwillingly forced to abandon her. He trains Savage as if he were a dark Padawan. He's constantly making remarks to Obi-wan as to how he could improve. The man can't help himself. But Qui-gon was special to him, as we'll see in another few episodes.

One of the most fascinating layers of Dooku's character is his political idealism. I'll point it out in more detailed fashion when I recap the next episode, but young Dooku and Padmé Amidala have so much in common. And it's wild for Dooku, as someone who (both canonically and in the EU) was born into a noble family, was aware of his heritage, and by all accounts, maintained a level of haughty distance from most people exacerbated by a taste for the finer things in life.

And yet...and yet. This is a man who is unbelievably angry at the actions of a corrupt Senate. That a village could be treated and forgotten this way. Padmé is little different, as we see in TPM and throughout TCW. (You have to wonder what a political powerhouse those could have been if they had stood on the same side of the aisle at the same time).

When we think of Dooku, we think of a relentless man who would go to any length to see the Jedi destroyed. And later, he goes on to commit some true atrocities. But like many roads paved to hell, it begins with good intentions, even if they may be self-serving.

Is it noblesse oblige? Maybe there's a hint of that. Does Dooku really care about the little person? In a way, but I don't think that's his major motivating factor.

Dooku grew up with the Jedi. He loves the Jedi, or at least loved the Jedi. He was talented and became one of their best. And then he started to see the cracks in the foundation and began to question everything about the Jedi, everything about himself. So much of this, in my mind, stems from a sense of betrayal by an organization and ideal which he held so dear to his heart (not to mention his main teacher was the head of the whole shebang).

What do you do when the thing you identify with the most - the thing that is you identity - your passion, in a way, your first love - curdles into something unrecognizable? If Dooku loved the Jedi any less, he would have left. (And that touches on a whole other cultural aspect of the Jedi Order and a type of institutional pressure that I won't get into here). Well, in Dooku's case, you start by trying to reform it from the inside. By bucking authority and replacing cracked edifice with your own hewn stone. Until you can't anymore, until the weight is too much to bear and your grievances begin to spill and metastasize into something else altogether.

The funny thing is, I feel like the start of this confrontation would have gone the same with almost any other Jedi. I can't see, say, Mace Windu (and I choose him as he gets underserved flak for being rule-abiding to the point of inhumanity) just up and saying, "Oh yeah, dude, you're totally right. Let's fuck over these peasants."

But where it gets interesting is when Dooku allows it to become a firefight. There's a long series of shots showing the fear of the villagers, the way Qui-gon looks around and is uncertain as to whether or not this is the right path.

Yes, Dooku, you do.

But. You're also willing (if not thrilled) for these people to become momentary collateral damage in an idealogical battle, as we see during the firefight exchange.

And the thing is...there's no easy answer here. It's not Republic vs. the Confederacy. It's not good versus evil. It's a lot more complicated than that, and Dooku isn't wrong in allowing the confrontation to happen. The Senator is corrupt. The Senator is willing to burn the village to the ground. The Jedi do (or should) serve the people of the Republic, first and foremost.

You can see why Dooku Force-choked the guy, in a way. He's still at a point where this collateral damage goes against everything he believes in, where he sees that the only option of restoring justice is through darkness, and he's willing to go there. For justice. For peace. (For himself).

The real hero here is Qui-gon, who is quick enough to realize number one, that his Master is going over the edge again (and given Qui-gon's response, I have zero reason to believe this was the first incident), and number two, that the Senator's son would be far more effective in persuading his father to abandon his terrible, awful plan of obliteration (although would his father have listened had Dooku not choked out of him first?)

As we know, Dooku is an aloof man. Touch is probably not one of his most-used emotional languages. I realize that in raising a child, even if they are ten to twelve years old when they come into your care, you probably have to have some comfort or at least tolerance of physical touch. But the fact that Qui-gon has no fear of Dooku and his possible reaction, that he instinctually takes him by the shoulder. I feel that with Dooku, so little can say so much, and to me, this is obvious proof of the solidity and trust in that relationship.

Part of the issue here is - Dooku's gambit works. Now, yes, he is absolutely correct in the exchange below that Qui-gon truly saved the day, but as I noted, it's not guaranteed the Senator would have listened to his son prior to having the life choked out of him. And what does Dooku received in response? Positive reinforcement. The village is being rebuilt. The Senator (for now) is reconsidering his actions. Brute force, in a way, worked, even if Dooku at the time was not fully in control of his own actions. And there's this weird negative/positive feedback loop where Dooku is rewarded for his actions, even if he knows his methods were less than savory, even his guilt eats at him, leading to the discussion below.

It's so interesting that Dooku is teetering on the edge during these years, but is always somehow brought back. It's really when he stops having a Padawan - that's one of the tipping points, where he has no counter-balance, has no one else to invest himself in, to learn from and, in some ways, live for. You almost have to wonder if some of Dooku's issues could have been solved by forcing another student on him after Qui-gon was knighted.

Next post on the docket: "Choices"

[hordeofcorvids]

I decided to start actually watching Star Trek like three weeks ago and being me I have to start with the Original Series.  And never has growing up watching old tv stood me so well.  The acting, the camera angles, the paper mache rocks.  It all fills me with a sense of joy and wellbeing.  I should have started watching years ago, I have deprived myself.      

[necrotic-nephilim]

Fandom: Batman and Robin (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Underage Relationships: Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Omega Dick Week (DCU), Omega Dick Grayson, Alpha Damian Wayne, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, First Time, Oral Sex, Dominant Bottom, Topping from the Bottom, Gentle Sex, Praise Kink, Soft Dom Dick Grayson, Control Issues, Unrequited Crush, Pre-Flashpoint (DCU), Dick Grayson is Batman Summary: Damian is pent up, lashing out, and Dick is just about at his wit's end about it. When he tries to talk to Damian about it, he learns that Damian is suppressing his own ruts to have some form of control over himself. Dick convinces Damian to give up control to Dick, instead. - Omega Dick Week 2024 - Day 7: Free Day

[itstimeforstarwars]

Looked up the word count of les miserables and came to the conclusion that I actually did not need to cut out those few paragraphs of the 15k chapter that expanded the lore of the Telosian sewer network. It would have been fine.

[anonym-potato]

It's done! A few weeks ago, I decided to start make patches of all the Path logos - pathches? - from HSR, and of course I had to start with our main man (gender neutral), Akivili the Trailblaze! I definitely should've left more space for the edge, but not bad for a first attempt, if I do say so myself. I'm going to do the seven playable paths next, and I've got solid ideas for three of them but don't know where to start, so...

[lilysundragon]

It's a really brief moment, especially in the context of SS Arc Satellite which is a long event story, but I really adored how much of Hiiro's character development we got to see in his conversation with Tatsumi.

Satellite does a great job of showing how emotionally intelligent Hiiro is. He's the first to pick up on Tatsumi's weird behavior, he is the first to offer support or a listening ear, and while he's talking to Tatsumi, he acknowledges how far he's come in the time since the Main Story.

Motorshow was only eight chapters long and Feather-Touch didn't focus on Hiiro very much so this is the first time that we as viewers get to see the impact that the Main Story had on Hiiro. It's clear that he's been able to reflect on everything that people have offered him and that he's made conclusion in the time since

He's proud of who he is now. He can accept the love and affection of others, finally believes that he can be worthy of love too. It's such a sweet moment and it's impossible not to be proud of all the things Hiiro has managed to learn -- from Alkaloid and the people around him. Hiiro mentions that in his village, learning these kinds of things would have been "sinful."

I don't think it's a coincidence that he mentions all this to Tatsumi, someone who is still grappling with his own past. During Satellite, Hiiro has already found the answer. Tatsumi is only just puzzling it out, still trying to find a way to reconcile his past and his present. It really shows how much Hiiro has matured since the last time we've seen him.

Reading all of this during Satellite put the dumbest smile on my face. It's a perfect unintentional epilogue to Main Story Chapter 5, where Hiiro was only just learning to accept love and happiness. It makes me happy to know that Hiiro isn't that sad and lonely child anymore.

[unopenablebox]

so you know how i'm always complaining about how the theater kids and video game professionals on various podcasts i listen to don't know anything about dinosaurs, and furthermore that they appear to flaunt this ignorance deliberately, specifically to hurt me

well i've finally decided to take the obvious step that isn't "getting a grip about whether entertainment industry professionals know anything about dinosaurs" and am pivoting to listening to nothing except for a podcast about recent publications in dinosaur paleontology

[kindlythevoid]

I?? Wrote a thing??

In honor of Star Wars Day!! I managed to write a piece on a dude from the Original Trilogy!! :D A little drabble of a character study, but I kinda like it!! :D

Check it out here!!

[doyouhatetheglasses]

tag drop

[torchickentacos]

AG Watchthrough Episode 2: Ruin With a View, AG002.

Business first. The poll on the last watchthrough has fourteen hours left as of me typing this but it seems unanimous enough (92.9% pro-explosion) that I am adding an explosion counter. To retroactively do so, I must inform you all that AG001: Get the Show on the Road! had a total of 3 explosions (counting hypothetical explosions that were shown on screen and animated in but did not actually happen). Updated explosion counter is at three going forwards, which is half as many as I thought the episode had. No worries, it'll go up very soon. For the amount Birch spoke about Pikachu exploding, I recalled more frames about explosions. I might have missed a couple of frames too, I skipped around to look.

Onto AG002: Ruin with a View! Long post. We talk about Ash as a mentor, the really shitty bunk beds I had in a dorm room at jesus camp, inconsistencies/questions I have about petalburg gym, Team Magma, and other things.

The episode opens in a way we will soon grow very accustomed to: With Ash jollily (?) marching forth and May complaining about it. Sometimes it will be the other way around. One person is ahead of the group, the other complains about it. Side note, the narrator calls May an 'aspiring' pokemon trainer. Two things there. One, she is technically already a trainer. She has a pokemon. Two, she does not particularly aspire towards being a trainer, but it's far too early for semantics. Moving on.

We're headed to Oldale town! May and Ash are already arguing on the second day of knowing each other. Ash thinks May is walking too slow. May points out that she'd HAD A BIKE... and Ash slows down, unable to argue with that. (Well, he's able to argue about anything in AG, but chooses to not pick a fight with the random girl he's supposed to be friends with now. Smart choice).

Anyways, May asks about Pikachu being out in the ball and Ash explains. This sets up something that WORKED about AG (when they remembered it): the group dynamic. Borderline nonexistent but VERY FUN WHEN IT WAS EXISTENT. Ash and May specifically have a mentor/mentee relationship for a while that I've always liked. It was a nice change of pace that set Ash as a more mature version of himself. He's abrasive and cocky but he does have genuine skill and experience to back it up now, and May is unsure of herself and... well, incompetent as a trainer as of right now. Ash has a real opportunity to shine here.

Does pokeani TAKE that opportunity...? Not really BUT it's there and we do see glimpses of it, like with Ash patiently explaining that May can use her pokedex to learn more about her new Torchic.

Anyways, they keep walking, May tries and fails to catch an Azurill. She sees it and throws the pokeball immediately. Rather hilariously to me at least, Ash just watches her make the same mistake he did, standing behind her like this.

The Azurill gets away, May forgets all of Torchic's attacks, Ash makes this weird face, and Torchic hits its head on a tree just like May did a single episode before.

Torchic then uses ember!...Which hits Azurill's family, a Marill and an Azumarill. Hey, didn't someone else start their journey by trying and failing to catch a pokemon rather pathetically and then angering other pokemon? Contest/Pallet solidarity isn't relevant yet (do take note I never claimed to be an unbiased narrator here), but Ash and May solidarity IS relevant and beloved. May and Ash are really similar, with May being outwardly a bit softer and, well, nicer usually (though Early AG Girlboss May™ is, if we recall from Ag001, a bit snide which does dwindle off). But we're going to start seeing a lot of similarities, which I don't think are a bad thing at all! I quite like it actually, especially in early episodes since it so nicely mirrors the last brand-new trainer we saw, which was Ash himself at the start of OS. This is Ash's first time not being the underdog, the new guy.

He (usually) takes this role rather well, and is happy to explain to May that Torchic, now-knocked-out-via-Azumarill's-watergun, can be healed at a pokemon center.

Also, explosion count goes up as Pikachu thunderbolts the water types. We're at four now, counting last episode.

Anyways, we find a bunch of rocks that I guess are just chilling in the middle of route 101? Normal Hoenn things, honestly. It'll get weirder, this is perfectly normal and fine. Just wait for the Claydol episode. Or the Gulpin episode. Or WWWWW and the Wynaut wall/rope/slide. Sigh. They're like tiny aqua legos or something. Or Monkeys in a barrel, I guess, which the slide was a reference to. ANYWAYS moving on, that is a discussion for AG113. So. Rocks.

We meet Professor Aldan and his WEIRD LITTLE PONYTAIL and he explains that these are "the Ruins of Oldale". (Not Oldale Ruins, I guess?)

He is researching the ruins and points out the pokemon center for Ash and May. I like this random ass little palm tree.

Look. There he is again below. It took all day for them to cross that single hill, by the way. It is nighttime now. It was a single hill they were on, overlooking Oldale.

Nurse Joy heals Torchic up, and Ash calls Professor Oak! May interrupts this call and gets all up in his personal space, which she tends to do to people on occasion, to which Ash makes this face, which looks like an Aang expression to me. I swear Aang has made this exact face before.

We learn that May has a brother (who "never misses one of your [Oak's] radio lectures!"). Amusingly, Oak seems slightly offput by May's enthusiasm, to which I ask, has Oak not met Ash??? Anyways, we switch over to Team Rocket, who is... here???? Wherever 'here' is???

They're talking to Giovanni, they ask for money, they get no money. BUT Giovanni tells them that if they set a TR branch office in Hoenn, then they can talk money. This, of course, is nothing but a carrot dangle because Giovanni wants them to stop fucking calling him for money. Also, he wants to learn about some MYSTERIOUS NEW TEAMS called Team Aqua and Team Magma.

Don't get your hopes up for that. Yes, TA and TM were in pokeani. Yes, there's a reason nobody remembers this outside of maybe, like, Diane and Butler. ANYWAYS. Oldale's trainer rooms are nicer than when I stayed at (redacted) university for Jesus Camp. You know what? Side tangent. This warrants a side tangent.

This college's dorm rooms had bunk beds that were two regular beds stacked and held together by a single thin wooden peg. Look at this. I had top bunk. I could have died. Also when I was there the elevator broke while people were in it and two girls passed out from the heat. This was in July. We weren't allowed to wear revealing (read: cool and summer safe) clothes. It was a weird two weeks in my life. We had a Jesus Rave. Twice. They played old town road. I have video proof of this.

Back on topic. Again. WAIT NEVERMIND- BACK OFF TOPIC, WHY ARE THERE JUST GUYS IN ROBES IN THE MAIN LOBBY?

Stripey shirt on the left is talking to their friends about Petalburg Gym (May is notably not thrilled about this). Ash is like YO GYM BATTLES! I DO THOSE.

WAIT I JUST FUCKING NOTICED @soulsilversprings tagging you here because of a convo we had. They say NEW GYM LEADER which I guess is what bulbapedia used to assume Pokeani Norman was also from Johto? I still like native-to-Hoenn May but ...there's that, I guess.

But actually, that doesn't make sense, because later we find out that May was 'never allowed to watch any of her father's gym matches' and it's made out to sound like Norman was always busy with the gym as May was growing up in a few offhand lines I'll get to??? So either he was already a gym leader and transferred, OR this line is bullshit and Norman's BEEN the gym leader and stripey shirt and co. are full of tauros shit /lh. Will update with any new information.

We are almost halfway done with the episode.

Interestingly to me at least, May IMMEDIATELY yanks Ash away and we don't learn who the new gym leader is, at her own insistence. Young Taylor certainly didn't imprint on May's direct-and-then-forgotten-by-the-writers avoidance of her father. /sarcastic joke, you can laugh at this LMAO. Moving on again but this does come up again and I'll discuss whatever feels relevant then.

We see Prof. Aldan again! Then we switch to Wobbuffet digging a hole! Then we switch back to Ash staring at a picture of the rocks on the wall! Enthralling, truly. Anyways, Aldan just... lets the random kids into his research base in the pokemon center. He talks about a stone chamber that is "a sort of bridge or portal between our world and the ancient pokemon world", that is so unstable that any attempted entries cause it to begin crumbling. Sounds safe.

May is oddly fascinated by the idea of ancient pokemon. Being a gym leader's daughter (spoilers.) did nothing for her, but hearing about an ancient pokemon in a hole in the ground? Now THAT'S interesting, I guess. And she's in luck, because Aldan shows them that he has the right way to enter the stone chamber!!! He met these children today and is inviting them to his unstable hole in the ground. Hoenn's gonna Hoenn, once again. At least there's no king of pokelantis to possess you in this specific hole in the ground. Don't worry about it <3.

Turns out there's 4 keys needed to enter, though, which he doesn't have. We then see team Magma grunts lining up outside the window, and they turn out the lights to the center, and break down the door and they kidnap Prof. Aldan in front of the kids. Nurse Joy interrupts and is also captured.

Side note that tells me I know way too much about AG but we all knew that: May's hair is animated uniquely here. It flips at the end a lot more, almost curling upwards. Maybe it's just really humid in southern Hoenn.

Anyways they LITERALLY FUCKING THROW MAY and I assume Ash and Nurse Joy too (but we only see May landing???) into a spare room and lock the door. Joy says with the power out, all the pokemon being treated there are in danger WHICH SEEMS LIKE AN OVERSIGHT TO ME but oh no, torchic is being treated there! But there IS reserve power that they can turn on once they escape the room.

Does anyone remember those room escape flash games??? I really liked those as a kid.

Pikachu points out an air vent, Ash says "That's grea-" but the sound engineers done fucked up and Ash is hilariously cut off by the WHO'S THAT POKEMON??? section. Which, note, still has Brock and Misty's voices in it.

It's Crobat. 👍

Team Rocket time. Insert 'posting hole on main' joke. They're in a hole. Get it?

Sigh.

TR picks a fight with Team Magma, who's heading out with Aldan. They get scared off back into their hole. We switch back to Ash and co.

Ash is crawling in the air vent! I guess he fully intended to leave May in the room, because he's suprised when she's crawling right behind him. Again, let's revel in May having a decision that she was able to make, or an order that she was able to defy. We'll run out of those soon enough. She asks, quote, "Why should I miss out on the adventure?". I really do love this characterization of her and wish it had stayed a biiiiiit more consistent, even if I do really like later AG May. But we eventually get someone who pushes her to be annoyed and fiery later, yay rivals, so that's good. Her character needs it to balance out the sweet/dumb/inexperienced aspects. They get a key for the door and switch the power back on and retrieve Nurse Joy.

They then rush off to help Prof. Aldan, who is being bothered by TM (Team Magma) to open the stone chamber. He says they need the keys. TM has the keys, conveniently. For some reason.

They put the keys in the holes, it opens, they go in. This is... a normal ancient chamber. Animation budget running a little low already, huh? /lh.

I think I hear Lisa Ortiz voice one of the magma grunts. I'm getting a migraine, let's speed this up a bit. Not much even happens past here anyways. TM leaves, TR shows up and blast off, explosion counter goes to 5, the sun comes up, they enter the chamber hole and find some Relicanth, and they get Torchic back from the center, and we head to Petalburg City.

What an oddly disjointed but enjoyable episode.

End of episode metrics:

Explosion count: 5.

Height ranking: Ash is arguably like four pixels taller. Ash>>May. Switched from episode 1 already.

[punkscowardschampions]

[sockempossum]

Dawn at dawn

[vulturevanity]

Now I have Counting Stars in my head. Damnit